Two students sitting in the rooftop garden at The Hub, with the spire of the Coventry Cathedral ruins in the background.

Applying for your visa

Applying for a visa can be an overwhelming prospect, but we are here to guide you through every step of the process. We can provide specialist immigration advice on applying for a new Student visa or renewing an existing visa.

Do you need a visa to study in the UK?

Students from the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland – if you are not already a resident in the UK or do not have settled/pre-settled status, you will need a Student visa to enter the UK for studies lasting longer than six months.
Students from non-European Union (EU) countries – all non-EU nationals must have a Student visa to enter the country before travelling to the UK, if coming for a course lasting more than six months.

E-visas

From July 2025, most international students will not receive a visa vignette (sticker) in their passport. Instead, the UK government is moving to a fully digital immigration system using e-visas.

You will be invited to set up your e-visa account after your visa application is approved. You’ll receive an email from UKVI (GOV.UK) at the email address you used in your visa application.

What is the right visa for you?

Student visa

If you are coming to the UK to study for more than six months, it is likely you will need to apply for a Student visa. A Student visa will also allow you to undertake work as part of your studies or look for a part-time job.

Points-based assessment

The UK operates a points-based immigration system. In order to be granted a Student visa, you must pass a points-based assessment and score 70 points. The points are broken down like this:

Points required: 70
You must have a valid Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) and meet the following: course requirement approved qualification requirement level of study requirement place of study requirement	50 points
English language requirement	10 points
You must have enough money to cover course fees and monthly living costs (also known as maintenance or funds)	10 points

Applying for your Student visa from outside the UK

You can apply for a Student visa to study in the UK once you have received your CAS letter and you have prepared your supporting documents*.

Fees

Read the latest government information on the fees you can expect to pay.

How long will it take?

The earliest you can apply for a visa is 3 months before your course start date. You’ll usually get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks of applying. In some countries there are Priority services which, in most cases, allow you to get your visa sooner.

Immigration health surcharge (IHS)

You may need to pay a fee towards the cost of healthcare in the UK as part of your immigration application. Once you have paid this, you will be able to use the National Health Service (NHS), which provides medical care in the UK.

Read the latest government information on the IHS fee you can expect to pay.

Create your UKVI Account

Before you travel to the UK you need to ensure you have created a UKVI account to prove your immigration status when arriving in the UK.

Apply for a Student visa

Applying for your Student visa in the UK

To apply for a Student visa within the UK, you must not have, or have last been, granted permission:

as a visitor; or
as a short-term student; or
as a parent of a child student; or
as a seasonal worker; or
as a domestic worker in a private household; or outside the immigration rules.

If you have current leave that allows you to apply from within the UK, this can only be done if there are less than 28 days between your current leave expiring and your Coventry
University course beginning. If you have a current Student visa (formerly Tier 4) and you have not successfully completed the course it was given for, you will not be able to apply within the UK.

If you need a new visa to complete a course you have already started with Coventry University, you will not be able to apply from within the UK unless:

your visa extension is to undertake a work placement; or
you need to extend due to resits/retakes and your visa has not been reported to the Home Office by the International Student Compliance Team due to a gap in your
studies.

If you do not qualify based on the above, you must be outside the UK to apply for your Student visa.

Once you’ve applied, you can stay in the UK until you’ve been given a decision, as long as you applied before your last visa expired. If your previous leave was under a Tier 4 or Student visa, you will be allowed to enrol onto your new course before your previous visa expires. You will need evidence that you have applied for a new Student visa with a CAS from Coventry University.

If you currently hold a Skilled Worker visa (formerly Tier 2 visa) and you are switching to a Student visa, you must be granted your new Student visa before you will be allowed to enrol on your course.

Fees

Read the latest government information on the fees you can expect to pay.

How long will it take?

The earliest you can apply is 3 months before your course starts. You must apply before your current visa expires. Your new course must begin within 28 days of your current visa expiring. You’ll usually get a decision within 8 weeks.

Immigration health surcharge (IHS)

You will need to pay a fee towards the cost of healthcare in the UK as part of your immigration application. Once you have paid this, you will be able to use the National Health Service (NHS), which provides medical care in the UK.

Read the latest government information on the IHS fee you can expect to pay.

Apply for a Student visa

Short-term study visa

The Short-term study visa is only for students who want to study an English language course in the UK lasting longer than 6 months and up to 11 months.

If you are applying to study a Pre-sessional English course, you should apply for a Student visa. For study under six months, you need to apply for a Standard Visitor visa.

The Short-term study visa cannot be extended, and you cannot switch to another visa category from this visa in the UK. You must leave the UK when this visa expires.

You can only apply for this type of visa from outside the UK.

How long will it take?

You can apply for this visa up to 3 months before your date of travel to the UK, and you should get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks.

Apply for a Short-term study visa

Graduate visa

A Graduate visa gives you permission to stay in the UK for at least 2 years after successfully completing a course in the UK. You must be in the UK when you apply.

Sponsorship from an employer is not required (as some points-based system visas require). There is no restriction on the kind of work you can do and no minimum salary. You can spend time looking for work and you are able to switch jobs without any effect on your visa. Your partner and any children under 18 can extend their permission to join you on this visa should they already have permission to stay in the UK as your dependant, however new dependants are not permitted on this route.

You cannot extend your Graduate visa. However, you may be able to switch to a different visa, for example a Skilled Worker visa.

You can apply for a Graduate visa if all of the following are true:

you’re in the UK
your current visa is a Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa
you studied a UK bachelor’s degree, postgraduate degree or other eligible course for a minimum period of time with your Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa.

Do not apply for the Graduate route visa until you have had confirmation that the university has contacted the Home Office about your course completion. Failure to get this confirmation will result in the Graduate visa being refused.

Apply for a Graduate visa

Extending your visa

You may need to extend your visa because you need to:

resit exams or repeat modules
apply after working as a Students' Union sabbatical officer to complete a qualification you started studying under your last Student visa (including a Tier 4 (General) student visa)
complete a PhD or other doctorate that you started studying under your last Student visa (including a Tier 4 (General) student visa)
complete your studies because you’ve done (or want to do) a work placement or study abroad programme

We can help you download your supporting documents as part of the application process. Once your application has been submitted, the visa compliance team will monitor the progress of your application, and you will be required to produce all ongoing documentation received from the Home Office to this team, until you are in receipt of your new student visa.

Extend your visa

To extend your visa you must:

be in the UK on a Student visa or a Tier 4 (General) student visa
have an unconditional offer of a place on a course with a licensed student sponsor - shown by your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)

If you’ve been in the UK with a valid visa for less than 12 months, you’ll need to prove you have enough money to support yourself in the UK. If you have been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months, you do not need to prove you have the required funds when you apply for your extension, however the UKVI can still request this at any time during the application process.

If you have dependents with you in the UK (PhD only), your partner or children will need to apply separately to extend their visa. They can either apply at the same time as you, or at any time before their current visa expires.

How do I request a CAS letter?

Contact cas.io@coventry.ac.uk in order to start the process of requesting a CAS letter. The team will provide you with the most up to date information for requesting a CAS.

When to apply

The earliest you can apply is 3 months before your course starts.

You must apply before your current visa expires. Your new course must begin within 28 days of your current visa expiring. For example, if your visa expires on 1 December, you must apply for a new visa before 1 December. Your new course must begin by 29 December.

You must also apply within 6 months of getting a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).

You can stay in the UK until you get your decision.

If you applied for an administrative review because your application was refused, you can stay in the UK until you get your review decision, however study restrictions may apply.

Fees

For each person, you’ll need to pay:

You’ll need to have your biometric information (fingerprints and a photo) taken - there’s no fee for this.

Apply to extend your Student visa

Important information

If you receive an unexpected email, telephone call or letter from someone who claims to be from the Home Office, it may be a scam. The Home Office will never contact you to ask for money or your personal details. Read the UK Government's fraud, tricks and scams guide.